The executive is taken to task, as bad news continues in the world of work. Increase in bankruptcies and restructuring projects, calls for strikes at the SNCF, at Air France and in the civil service, new rise in fever among the peasantry… As a result of the difficulties of our economy and budgetary austerity measures, this Growing excitement reflects on the Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, and his troops.
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This is evidenced by the unpleasant episode experienced on Friday November 8 by Marc Ferracci. Coming to meet the employees of the Michelin factory in Cholet (Maine-et-Loire), which will close its doors by 2026, just like that of Vannes, the minister responsible for industry was vigorously addressed upon his arrival in the establishment, forcing him to quickly disappear. Those around him put things into perspective, arguing that the booing only lasted a few minutes, for a three-hour presence on the scene, and that people outside the company had participated. But the skirmish shows that the government is caught up in social tensions.
Even if the number of layoffs and non-renewed temporary employment contracts remains lower today than that recorded during the 2008 economic crisis, Mr. Barnier's team is closely monitoring the indicators, noting a worrying trend. So-called “job protection” plans, which result in cuts in the workforce, “increasing since 2023 and will continue”admitted the Minister of Labor, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, to the deputies on Tuesday. “It is the conjunction of both structural problems in certain sectors and a cyclical situation”she explained. Three days earlier, on France Inter, Mr. Ferracci had not sought to paint reality rosy. “There will probably be announcements of site closures in the coming weeks and months”he said, evoking “thousands of jobs” deleted.
Hotbeds of revolt
If the painful decisions taken, for example, at Michelin or Auchan cannot be directly attributed to the government, other centers of revolt appear following political arbitrations. This is particularly the case in the public service, where the prospect of a strike in the coming weeks seems more and more certain. On Tuesday, the eight main unions representing agents met to discuss a possible response against the desire of the executive to toughen the conditions of compensation for sick leave. They are in unison to contest this project.
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